All biryani, no fuss

That is essentially the motto of this brand new biryani joint in town. We sampled some of the offerings and returned with our tongues on fire

That is essentially the motto of this brand new biryani joint in town. We sampled some of the offerings and returned with our tongues on fire

There's a surfeit of biryani joints in town and we are by now convinced the city truly does take its biryani seriously. The latest addition to this brigade is Biryani Bazaar on St Mark's Road. Brightly lit in red and yellow lights, there is hardly a chance you are going to miss this one even if you are merely driving past.

Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

We stopped by on a weekday evening and returned fulfilled if not happy. The name gives you the feeling that this one is more of a take away joint than an actual dine-in one. We decided to give into this feeling and were taking away a parcel that night.

The place is sparkling new, and that is something that will strike you with not just the ongoing construction outside but with the cellophane covered chairs too. The d �cor is functional and reminiscent of a typically no-fuss Hyderabadi biryani joint complete with steel tumblers and jugs.

There weren't many people dining here on the day we stopped by and we received a rather warm welcome. The menu is simple with a few biryani options, vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters and main course and a few soups too. Most of the dishes are Andhra specials and we knew this meal wasn't going to be any less than fiery even before we started out.

Guntoor Chicken

Though the menu is quite comprehensive, on the day and hour we stopped by, there were limited options to choose from. We were promised that our order will arrive in a matter of five minutes and were pleasantly surprised to watch that happen.

The Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani (Rs 130) was available and that nearly made our day. The biryani came with long-grained rice, succulent heavily spiced pieces of meat and was generously strewn with cloves, cinnamon and aniseed.

To go with it, we ordered the Guntoor Chicken (Rs 100) and Chicken Chops (Rs 100). Although we were initially told the Guntoor Chicken was a dry dish, we were surprised to find some gravy in the parcel. This was perhaps the dish that set the fire off.

It's reminiscent of Andhra's famous gongura and prepared in green chili gravy. Delicious, it was a little too spicy for our palette to contain. The chops were comparatively milder and were prepared in dark brown gravy with caramelized onions.

Thankfully, there was no hint of the extra hot green chillies here and we could use this as an accompaniment to the meal. The meal in all was fulfilling but did send us on a water binge. If spicy is what you are looking for tonight, Biryani Bazaar does seem like an option that will give you a quick, hearty and extremely pocket-friendly meal.

Where Biryani Bazaar, 16/1 Prestige House of Lords, St Mark's RoadCall 22223881FOR R 400 for a meal for two Biryani Bazaar didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.